Clackety Track: Poems about Trains

by Skila Brown, Jamey Christoph (Illustrator)

Overview

Queue up for a whistle-stop tour of trains of all kinds, narrated in lively verse and featuring dynamic retro artwork.

Rows of grooves, cables, and bars.
Graffiti rockin’ out the cars.
A badge of rust. A proud oil stain.
There’s nothin’ plain about a train.

Trains of all shapes and sizes are coming down the track — bullet train, sleeper train, underground train, zoo train, and more. All aboard! Skila Brown’s first-class poems, as varied as the trains themselves, reflect the excitement of train travel, while Jamey Christoph’s vintage-style illustrations provide a wealth of authentic detail to pore over.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763690472
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/12/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	314,765
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Skila Brown has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of two young adult novels and the picture book Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks, illustrated by Bob Kolar. Skila Brown lives in Indiana.

Jamey Christoph has illustrated numerous picture books. His illustrations have also appeared in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. He lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

A poetry book for the early-elementary train lover looking for some clever verbiage to complement the cabooses. It's no mean feat to conjure up an original train book for kids, but, by gum, Brown and Christoph manage it...The overall package is a beautiful gift for locomotive lovers. A book unafraid to go on beyond choo-choo.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Not all of the poems rhyme, but each piece reflects the trains’ characteristics with their words, use of space, and design. Illustrator Christoph has created a beautiful homage to the world of trains with bright colors and bold double-page images...This title is a must-have for train aficionados.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Reflecting the changing moods of the poems, Christoph’s expressive digital artwork includes spare, beautifully composed scenes as well as others with interesting details for kids to discover. Some of the broad, double- page illustrations suggest period settings, but most have a timeless look. A slender, handsome volume celebrating trains.
—Booklist

The midcentury modernity of Jamey Christoph’s pictures give a nice retro touch to this good-natured appreciation.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2019

K-Gr 2—Brown has created poems that mimic and complement many different kinds of trains including freight trains, bullet trains, zoo trains, steam engines, underground trains, and more. "Shoulder Ballast Cleaner" fills the page; the words are curved and spread all over the vehicle. The sleeper train poem includes repetition to give readers the feeling of going to sleep; the repetition in "The Underground Train" emphasizes the train's underground journey and purpose. Not all of the poems rhyme, but each piece reflects the trains' characteristics with their words, use of space, and design. Illustrator Christoph has created a beautiful homage to the world of trains with bright colors and bold double-page images. The steam engine fills the page while the bullet train looks like it is speeding out of sight. A spread of train facts, cleverly written upon the train cars, completes this wild ride. VERDICT This title is a must-have for train aficionados. Highly recommended for elementary and children's collections.-Lia Carruthers, Gill St. Bernard's School

School Library Journal

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